Jennifer Bartlett

I first came to Gullkistan in October 2020 to escape the Covid pandemic in New York City. At Gullkistan and in the village of Laugarvatn where the residency is situated, I found safety, warmth, and the comfort I needed to do my work as a poet and writer. Over the course of the following years, my life had many dramatic changes, but I kept coming back to Gullkistan. The residency provided me a safe haven. I was able to complete a biography on the poet Larry Eigner that I had been working on for nearly 12 years. Sustaining Air: The Life of Larry Eigner was published by the University of Alabama Press in 2023.

Subsequently, I became more interested in Icelandic culture, and I began studying Icelandic as a Second Language at the University of Iceland. I now live part-time at Gullkistan. In this time, I have completed another book, a memoir. and I am preparing to embark on a project about a major, international novelist.

I have meet so many wonderful people at Gullkistan. Alda truly provides a safe space for artists of all kinds.